Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton reassured Iraqis during a surprise visit to Baghdad Saturday that the country was on the right track, despite a spike in violence, and that the U.S.'s commitment to Iraq would not waiver as America withdraws its soldiers. "Let me assure you and repeat what President Obama said, we are committed to Iraq," Mrs. Clinton told Iraqis who had been invited to a town hall style meeting at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. "We are very committed, but the nature of our commitment may look somewhat different because we are going to be withdrawing our combat troops over the next few years." In the two days leading up to Mrs. Clinton's arrival, Iraqis witnessed some of the worst violence in more than a year, as five separate sectarian bomb attacks within 24-hours on Thursday and Friday left nearly 160 dead, many of them Iranian pilgrims, and hundreds more wounded. Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday blamed U.S. forces for the attacks. Mrs. Clinton called that allegation "disappointing." In Washington, Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of U.S. forces in the region, told a House panel that a network of militants from Tunisia may be responsible for the recent attacks. Though the level of violence remains greatly diminished in Iraq, a string of bombings over the past month has caused large numbers of casualties and diminished hopes among many Iraqis that security gains were here to stay. On the eve of President Barack Obama's visit to Baghdad earlier this month, insurgents similarly launched a coordinated six-car bomb attack on the capital that left more than 30 dead. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton pledges support for Iraq, even as the U.S. presses ahead with its plans to withdraw troops. Fears are mounting that as the U.S. draws down troops, Iraq's own security forces will be unable to prevent former Baath Party loyalists, violent Jihadists and Shiite militias from seizing on the absence of U.S. forces to regroup and step up attacks. Many of the questions at the town hall meeting with Mrs. Clinton and Iraqi students and representatives of nongovernmental organizations reflected a fear that the U.S. seems to consider Iraq less of a priority than it did, and that that could have devastating consequences for the country. Since taking office, Mrs. Clinton has made these campaign-style town hall meetings a signature part of her diplomacy on visits overseas. "We know that the situation in Iraq is not at the same level of importance for the new administration," said one Iraqi participant who said he was a human rights activist. "I would like to ask if this policy is a kind of retreat?"